Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ending explained – Here's what we know about Captain Price's next mission

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a reboot of Call of Duty 4, a reimagining of the classic 2007 release set in a fictitious contemporary conflict. Infinity Ward set out to tell a brand new story, full of new characters and defining set-pieces, but that doesn't mean that the new Modern Warfare doesn't bring back some old favourites too. As we are about to get into major spoiler territory, I'd recommend that you turn away unless you're ready to have the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare ending explained and the Modern Warfare post-credits scenes detailed.

Last chance, I'm serious. Once you've had the Modern Warfare ending explained, you'll no doubt start counting down the weeks until Modern Warfare 2 (no, not that one) is brought into this world. That's right, Infinity Ward is already dropping some pretty strong hints that a sequel is in the works, and fans of the original trilogy will find plenty here to be excited by. Right, let's do this thing; here's a breakdown of the two post-credits scenes, will the full Modern Warfare ending explained.

Modern Warfare ending explained

Following Farah's defeat of the Russian General, Roman Barkov, and the death of Alex (Echo 3-1) – who sacrificed himself to destroy the production of a deadly nerve gas – the action cuts to a quiet meeting between Captain Price and Kate Laswell, a CIA supervisor overseeing the Special Activities Division.

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The first Modern Warfare post-credits scene details that meeting as the two share a cup of tea. Captain Price looks for some recompense following his successful mission to put a stop to chemical weapons attack in the West, pushing Laswell to grant him the authority and resources to start a new task force. Eventually, Laswell relents, giving Price the go-ahead to create a clandestine, off-the-books, military unit that can travel to danger zones around the world and work to keep democracy enact without being bound by traditional rules of engagement.

Price reveals that he is establishing Task Force 141 – The One-Four-One – which many of you may recognise as the multinational special operations unit from the original Modern Warfare 2. He then opens up a dossier, revealing the soldiers he will be recruiting for this reimagined Task Force 141.

You've been playing as Gaz this whole time

If you had never played the original trilogy of games, it's here where you'll really need the Modern Warfare ending explained. Out of the dossier, Price pulls the files on the soldiers he'll be calling into service for Task Force 141 and, yes, it does contain all of our old favourites.

For starters, it's revealed that one of the playable characters in this rebooted Modern Warfare – SAS officer Kyle Garrick – actually carries the nickname "Gaz". That's right, it is revealed that, back in the UK, the SAS operative goes by the name Kyle "Gaz" Garrick to his friends – a direct link back to the original Modern Warfare from 2007. Gaz, if you don't remember, was a member of the British SAS in the original game and one of the NPCs that helped contextualise the missions of The-One-Four-One. A fan-favourite who met a grisly end at the hands of Zhakaev, whatever Price – and Infinity Ward – has planned for the future, Kyle "Gaz" Garrick will have a big role to play.

Soap and Ghost will be in Modern Warfare 2

Next up, Price reveals that he wants John "Soap" MacTavish to join Task Force 141. That's some huge news right there! Soap was one of the principal players in the original Modern Warfare, beginning the series as a new recruit before going on to help the group through some of its most difficult encounters across the trilogy.

It's then revealed that Price wants a mysterious recruit brought into the team, one without a face on record. That, of course, is Simon "Ghost" Riley. Ghost is an iconic figure in the original Modern Warfare trilogy, with many fans often citing his death at the hands of Gen. Shepherd as a definitive moment in the series.

Gen. Shepherd has a role to play

Speaking of Gen. Shepherd, Laswell makes a passing mention of the infamous commander in Modern Warfare. The handler notes that Shepherd is her contact for continuing Al-Quatala operations in the second of the post-credits scene, teasing a potential appearance in the Spec Ops missions over the next 12 months. Gen. Shepherd's presence looms large here. He was an integral part of Modern Warfare 2 and its sequel, responsible for killing off fan-favourite characters and pushing Task Force 141 into some pretty dicey situations in the original trilogy. We don't know how big of a role Gen. Shepherd will play here, but it means that Captain Price and the team will likely have some tough days ahead of them.

Kaled Al-Asad is back

The second post-credits scene in Modern Warfare also reveals that Kaled Al-Asad is making a return. Al-Asad was one of the villains in the 2007 original, first helping to lead a coup that throws the events of the game into motion, and later setting off a nuclear weapon that consumes his own country and one of the protagonists you had spent much of the game controlling.

Infinity Ward is teasing that Al-Asad will have a major role to play in the co-operative Spec Ops missions in the months to come, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him – and his cohort, Imran Zhakaev – show up in a reinvisioned Modern Warfare 2.

Will there be a Modern Warfare 2?

Infinity Ward drops some major hints that we will indeed see a Modern Warfare 2 in the future. With the Modern Warfare ending explained, you should have a good idea of how the pieces are beginning to fall into place for such a sequel. Task Force 141 is back in action with Price, Gaz, Soap, and Ghost; Kaled Al-Asad is making a power play and Gen. Shepherd is on the scene. What's old is new again, right?

We also see in the Modern Warfare ending that Nikolai – Price's Russian contact in the original game, reprising the same role here – is alive and well, and even Sgt. Kamarov – the Russian operative who helped Price rescue Nikolai from behind enemy lines in the 2007 original – makes a brief appearance to pledge support to the CIA to help deal with the growing threat from Al-Asad. It would appear that Kamarov and Nikolai, along with the rest of the returning characters, will all have parts to play in any future sequels and the brewing tensions between the US and Russia.